Category: Uncategorized

I’d heard that Buicks were popular in China, but I didn’t know they were this popular: SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A popular Chinese online video showing a woman going hysterical after her male companion refuses to buy her a car is stirring debate about Shanghai’s females, who are renowned for their demanding ways. In the video,…

Do we all agree that there should be fewer abortions? The reason I’m asking is because President Obama has been quoted as saying that we do: Notre Dame provost Thomas Burish said he thought Obama fared well in the face of controversy, delivering a speech the audience embraced and setting the tone for a conversation…

You think green energy crates jobs? Guess again. A power producer typically gets paid for the power it generates. In Texas, some wind energy generators are paying to have someone take power off their hands. Because of intense competition, the way wind tax credits work, the location of the wind farms and the fact that…

Tom Ligon is an engineer who worked with Dr. Robert Bussard on Polywell Fusion. Tom explains the technology and his work with Dr. Bussard. There are seven videos in the series. You can watch the rest of them here: Tom Ligon Interview 2 Tom Ligon Interview 3 Tom Ligon Interview 4 Tom Ligon Interview 5…

I’m probably projecting my own frustrations onto my dog while behaving in a very anthropomorphic manner, but a recent picture of Coco screaming made me think of a famous Norwegian painting, so into the painting Coco had to go! This is not the first time that Coco has invaded art. Here she is persistently invading…

This video was described by Ann Althouse as “A beautiful, emotional anti-gun ad.” Which it is. See for yourself. One of the things I most like about Ann Althouse is that she fearlessly and unhesitatingly highlights the strengths and weaknesses of arguments on both sides, regardless of which side she and most of her readers…

M. Simon made the following observation about politicians last night: Politicians use words the same way squids use ink. To cover their tracks. I think that in the current political climate, most voters understand the above implicitly. A brief review of the current numbers from RealClearPolitics is in order: President Obama Job Approval RCP Average…

I can’t believe it, but it was six years ago yesterday that I started ranting in this blog. These days I often feel like I’ve run out of things to say, but then something will come along and annoy me enough (or amuse me enough) that I just keep right on as if there’s something…

In a comment on my post Green Energy Kills Jobs stressdoc had this to say about his experience with wind power. I am a mechanical engineer and quite knowledgeable about wind power and the reliability problems. They are many! Wind power has a longer history in the EU, but the experience has been similar. Wind…

Durango, Colorado is having economic difficulties. And what are they giving up to be able to pay for city workers? Green energy. For two years, the city of Durango, Colo., bought electricity for all its government buildings from wind farms. The City Council ended that program this year, reverting to electricity derived from coal-burning plants…

Politicians use words the same way squids use ink. To cover their tracks. Cross Posted at Power and Control

I’m trying to avoid the appearance of gloating over this report: WASHINGTON – Barack Obama warned Democrats in Congress against making a partisan cause out of the Bush administration’s harsh interrogation tactics. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ignoring him — loudly — and the party, from the president on down, may pay the price. Were…

In a remarkable piece titled “The Alinsky Administration,” Jim Geraghty demonstrates how the Obama administration is following the Alinsky model — with detailed line and verse examples. It’s a must read, and the bottom line is that this is not about ideology, but power: …an Alinskyite’s core principle is to take any action that expands…

Now that Glenn Reynolds has favorably linked Andrew Sullivan’s discussion of Barack Obama’s betrayal of gay rights, I’m hoping that Andrew will reciprocate (and without one of the snotty asides he usually directs towards Glenn). I notice that Andrew was surprisingly kind to Carrie Prejean not long ago, even linking Kathryn Jean Lopez’s column. Perhaps…

That is right. According to a Zogby Poll half of all Americans want pot legalized. A majority of Americans, in a poll released Wednesday, say it “makes sense to tax and regulate” marijuana. The Zogby poll, commissioned by the conservative-leaning O’Leary Report, surveyed 3,937 voters and found 52 percent in favor of legalization. Only 37…

You heard that right. And it is not tinfoil hat stuff. It is from reputable scientists. It makes intuitive sense that if superconductors can carry currents with zero resistance, then superconducting light emitting diodes might do their stuff with equally amazing efficiency. But superconducting LEDs are not only bright, they are brighter than anyone can…

Commenter Robert (to a post about parenting) supplied a link to a truly amazing piece titled “Gun Control Is a Reproductive Justice Issue.” Among other things, the author claims that gun control opponents are racists: In casting the gun issue as a matter of individual rights and responsibilities, the gun lobby only fuels the criminalization…

Sometimes I wonder whether things are getting a bit loopy on the libertarian side of the fence. (Either that or some clever agents provocateur are making it look that way.) Earlier today I received an invitation — from a libertarian Facebook friend I will not name — to join a group named “The New World…

Last night I did something I hardly ever do and flipped innocently through the TV channels. An annoying story caught my attention — involving some local high school kids who were caught horsing around with disposable cameras they’d modified into low-powered stun guns, and who now face felony charges Some of the comments I heard…

Rick Nebel, the head of EMC2 Fusion (Polywell), has a few words to say in the comments at Next Big Future about the progress he is making in understanding The Polywell Fusion Reactor and its chances for power production. rnebel I believe we will know the answer for the Polywell in ~ 1.5-2 years. I…